Shep the Broomfield Turnpike Dog

When walking past Broomfield Depot Museum in Zang Spur Park, its hard to miss the gravestone that is decorated with flowers and gifts. The headstone belongs to a stray dog named Shep and it reads, “Part Shepherd, Mostly Affection”. In 1950, when Shep was a puppy, workers constructing the Boulder-Denver Turnpike tollbooths found him and took him under their wing. Due his loving and affectionate nature, he was loved not just by workers at the tollbooth but even by passersby. Soon he was considered the unofficial mascot for Colorado Department of Transportation. After his death in 1964, his remains were buried near the tollbooth which was later moved to Zang Spur Park in 2009.